Method and system for nanoscale data recording

ABSTRACT

A super-resolution system for nano-patterning is disclosed, comprising an exposure head that enables a super-resolution patterning exposures. The super-resolution exposures are carried out using electromagnetic radiation and plasmonic structures, and in some embodiments, plasmonic structures having specially designed super-resolution apertures, of which the “bow-tie” and “C-aperture” are examples. These apertures create small but bright images in the near-field transmission pattern. A writing head comprising one or more of these apertures is held in close proximity to a medium for patterning. In some embodiments, a data processing system is provided to re-interpret the data to be patterned into a set of modulation signals used to drive the multiple individual channels and multiple exposures, and a detection means is provided to verify the data as written.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a Continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/747,206, filed Jan. 20, 2020, entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM FORNANOSCALE DATA RECORDING (now scheduled to issue on Aug. 18, 2020 asU.S. Pat. No. 10,747,118), which in turn is a Continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/260,101, filed Jan. 28, 2019, entitledMETHOD AND SYSTEM FOR NANOSCALE DATA RECORDING (now U.S. Pat. No.10,539,880), which in turn is Continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/894,839, filed Feb. 12, 2018, entitled NANOSCALE PATTERNEXPOSURE SYSTEM (now U.S. Pat. No. 10,191,385), which is a Continuationof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/262,800, filed Sep. 12, 2016,entitled SYSTEM FOR CREATING NANOSCALE PATTERNS (now U.S. Pat. No.9,891,536), which in turn is a Continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/987,631, filed Jan. 4, 2016 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,442,382),entitled SUPER-RESOLUTION EXPOSURE SYSTEM, which in turn is aContinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/339,411, filed Aug.26, 2014 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,229,330), entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM FOPWRITING NANOSCALE PATTERNS, which is a Continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/987,597, filed Aug. 12, 2013 (now U.S. Pat. No.8,841,637), entitled METHOD FOR NANOLITHOGRAPHY, which is a Continuationof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/135,119, filed Jun. 24, 2011 (nowU.S. Pat. No. 8,507,881) entitled NANOLITHOGRAPHY SYSTEM, which is aContinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/584,578 filed Sep.5, 2009 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,989,783) entitled NANOLITHOGRAPHY SYSTEM,which is a Divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/522,303filed Sep. 15, 2006 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,586,583) entitledNANOLITHOGRAPHY SYSTEM, which Claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 60/718,038, filed on Sep. 15, 2005, entitled WRITINGHEAD FOR NANOLITHOGRAPHY, all of which are herein incorporated in theirentirety by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A lithography system for the fabrication of microdevices, as illustratedin FIG. 1, generally comprises a light source 100, an illuminationsystem 110, a reticle (sometimes called a mask or photomask) 130, a lenssystem 140, and a stage 145 to hold a semiconductor wafer 150. Light 102of wavelength λ from the source 100 is directed by the illuminationsystem 110 onto the reticle 130, and the lens 140 collects the lightfrom the reticle and forms an image on the wafer 150. The wafer iscoated with a photosensitive material, called a photoresist, and afterexposure and suitable development, the pattern of the image is convertedinto a pattern in the photoresist, used to control subsequentmanufacturing steps.

These imaging systems, although capable of achieving resolutions assmall as a quarter to a third of the wavelength used for exposure, arestill limited by diffraction phenomena and the ability of the lens tocollect enough light emerging from the photomask. For state-of-the-artsystems, λ=193 nm, and therefore, with conventional lens aperture(NA=0.93), the ultimate resolution that can be achieved is approximately

L=0.25λ/NA=52 nm.

Optical systems capable of producing smaller features, usually throughnear-field or evanescent phenomena, are considered “super-resolution”patterning systems.

For the fabrication of smaller features using conventional lithographicprocessing techniques, a shorter wavelength must be used. Such solutionsare possible, but have practical limitations. For shorter opticalwavelengths, (λ<185 nm), oxygen in the air absorbs the photon energy, asdoes quartz, the normal lens fabrication material. Vacuum systems andreflective optics can be used, and have been demonstrated for systemsusing plasma induced extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation at λ=13 nm.However, no conventional light sources at 13 nm exist, and generatingenough photons and fabricating masks and lenses using multilayerreflectors (which typically have 70% reflection efficiency) provides aneconomically unattractive solution.

Electron beams can also be used. 50 keV electrons have a λ=0.001 nm,certainly small enough to resolve small features, and electron beamimaging systems, operating again in a vacuum, have been constructed andused to fabricate features near atomic dimensions. However, unlikephotons, electrons are charged, and in high enough densities, repel eachother, causing image distortion. This has proven an insurmountableproblem for electron projection lithography, and most electron beamsystems are serial—exposing a single spot at a time with a single beam.Furthermore, with each electron accelerated to an energy of 50 keV, thedose needed to expose resist can be provided by only a few hundredelectrons, making statistical shot noise a problem for exposureuniformity.

Smaller resolution is not the only problem facing contemporary ICpatterning. The complex masks enabling sub-wavelength exposure can bevery expensive, due to the complex processes needed to fabricate themand their generally low yield. Although ICs to be produced in largevolume can absorb these costs, low volume ICs and prototypes (which aregenerally discarded, not sold) suffer from the costs and delays inreliably producing advanced photomasks. Such projects, which may see lowor no return on the investment, would benefit from a fabricationtechnique that is both rapid and inexpensive.

To achieve fabrication of features smaller than 40 nm, especially whenlarge numbers of features are desired simultaneously at dense pitches,as in a conventional IC, there is therefore a need for a direct-write,or “maskless” high resolution lithography system. The need for these isgreatest for low volume and prototype applications.

Ideally, such a maskless system would be compatible with theconventional optical infrastructure currently deployed in IC fabs.Ideally, such a system could be used with throughputs comparable toconventional exposure tools. If feasible, the exposures should also beverified as they are being written, as there is no mask that can beinspected (as in “conventional” IC manufacturing) to guarantee that thepattern data has been accurately transcribed.

One proposed maskless system uses parallel electron beam writers, suchas the MAPPER system proposed by MAPPER Lithography of the Netherlands.This is illustrated in FIG. 2. In this system, an electron beam 202 isemitted from an electron source 200, and electron steering electronics210 divide this beam into as many as 13,000 parallel electron beamchannels. These are guided by electron lenses 220 towards the wafer 250to be exposed. At the wafer exposure occurs by raster scanning the beamsusing the final beam controllers 240. En route, each beam passes throughan aperture 232 in an aperture plate 230, where individual signals fromblanking electronics 264 modulate the individual electron beams. Theseblanking electronics 264 are directed using signals passed over opticalfibers 262, in turn driven directly by a data processing system 260using the IC layout data. The layout data directing the blankers issynchronized with the wafer stage position so that the exposure matchesthe correct dose for that particular wafer location.

This can work in principle, since the individual electron beams canprovide the resolution, and the parallel channels provide the speed. Inpractice, this system is prone to jitter and thermal instability, andsince the energy associated with each electron is so high, shot noiseremains an issue. Special e-beam materials must also be used, and arenot those currently used in a conventional optical lithography process,which leads to compatibility issues when inserted into a contemporaryfab.

Optical maskless systems driven directly by layout data have also beenproposed. Such a system is illustrated in FIG. 3. These systems aresimilar to conventional optical lithography systems, in that they alsohave light 302 emitted by a source 300, which is then shaped by anillumination system 310. The final imaging is also accomplished by alens system 340, which forms an image of a “mask” 330 onto a wafer 350mounted in a stage 345. However, here a conventional optical mask isreplaced by a dynamic mask 330 comprising reflecting elements 332, andthe light from the source is usually directed to the dynamic reflectingmask 330 using a beamsplitter 315 designed into the optical system. Thereflecting system elements 332 of the dynamic mask 330 in turn comprisemany individually driven MEMS devices, with individual elements drivenwith signals corresponding to pixels in the layout pattern. These MEMSdevices can be an array of micromirrors, tilting at various angles tomodulate the reflected light, or small elements that move in and out,sometimes called a piston mirror configuration, that modulates the phaseof the reflected light. The settings of the individual pixels are drivenby a data processing system 360 that sends signals derived from the IClayout through connectors 362 to circuitry 364 on the active mask 330,which sets the mirrors appropriately. The individual pixels of themicromirror array (typically comprising 1028×1028 micromirrors) or thepiston array are usually 20× to 200× larger than the correspondingpixels on the wafer, and the lens system has components 320 that aredesigned to reduce the image appropriately.

A single array is typically far too small to represent the entire layoutof an IC at once. Instead, the layout data must be split into tilesrepresenting sub-sections of the layout that are passed in sequence tothe array for exposure. The final image is then stitched together usingmultiple exposures of the pattern data onto the wafer 350, with thewafer stage 345 moving in a manner synchronized with the transmission ofdata to the dynamic reflecting array. A transmitting element, such as aliquid crystal light valve or array of thin film transistors can also beused to provide a similarly dynamic mask with either reflecting ortransmitting pixels.

These systems have the advantage of using conventional optical or UVwavelengths, and therefore the infrastructure of optical materials andprocess knowledge and experience can be leveraged to make the adoptionof this technology less disruptive. However, since conventional lensdesigns and materials are used, such systems are therefore subject tothe same resolution limitations as conventional optical lithography.

There is therefore a need for an exposure system capable of writingextremely small, “super-resolution” patterns (that is, patterns withfeature sizes smaller than the resolution obtainable by conventionaloptical lithography) that is also compatible with the processinfrastructure currently in place in IC fabrication facilities.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

We present here a nanolithography system comprising a novel opticalprinting head suitable for high throughput nanolithography. This opticalhead enables a super-resolution lithographic exposure tool that isotherwise compatible with the optical lithographic processinfrastructure. The exposing light is transmitted through speciallydesigned super-resolution apertures, of which the “C-aperture” is oneexample, that create small but bright images in the near-fieldtransmission pattern. A printing head comprising an array of theseapertures is held in close proximity to the wafer to be exposed. In oneembodiment, an illumination source is divided into parallel channelsthat illuminate each of the apertures. Each of these channels can beindividually modulated to provide the appropriate exposure for theparticular location on the wafer corresponding to the current positionof the aperture. A data processing system is provided to re-interpretthe layout data into a modulation pattern used to drive the individualchannels.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an illustration of a typical configuration for a prior artprojection lithography system.

FIG. 2 shows an illustration of a prior art maskless lithography systemusing parallel electron beams.

FIG. 3 shows an illustration of a prior art maskless lithography systemusing a mask of micromirrors and that exposes wafers using opticallithography.

FIG. 4 shows a prior art C-aperture.

FIG. 5 shows a number of geometric shapes for apertures that have beendemonstrated to have super-resolution capabilities.

FIG. 6 shows a layout for a 1-D array of super-resolution aperturesarranged to form a configuration for a nanolithography writing headaccording to the invention.

FIG. 7A shows a writing head with super-resolution apertures illuminatedby beams of light according to the invention.

FIG. 7B shows a cross section of the writing head of FIG. 7A withsuper-resolution apertures according to the invention.

FIG. 8 shows a layout for a 2-D array of super-resolution aperturesarranged to form a configuration for a nanolithography writing headaccording to the invention.

FIG. 9 shows a layout of a 1-D array of super-resolution aperturesarranged to form a configuration for a nanolithography writing head withadditional features to isolate individual apertures according to theinvention.

FIG. 10 shows a scanning plan for exposing a wafer using the 1-D arraylayout of FIG. 6, according to the invention.

FIG. 11 shows an embodiment of the invention in which the illuminationsystem for each of the super-resolution apertures comprises waveguides.

FIG. 12 shows an embodiment of the invention in which free spacepropagation illuminates each super-resolution aperture.

FIG. 13 shows an embodiment of the invention in which the height controlfor the separation of a super-resolution aperture and the material to beexposed is provided using AFM tips.

FIG. 14 shows an embodiment of the invention in which the height controlfor the separation of a super-resolution aperture and the material to beexposed is provided using interferometers.

FIG. 15 shows an embodiment of the invention in which the material to beexposed rotates underneath the nanolithography writing head.

FIG. 16 shows a schematic diagram of a fracturing system according tothe invention that converts conventional IC data into modulation signalsfor a nanolithography system in which the material to be exposed rotatesbeneath a writing head with super-resolution apertures.

FIG. 17 shows an embodiment of the invention comprising an additionallonger wavelength light source for conducting diagnostic tests on thematerial during exposure.

FIG. 18 shows an embodiment of the invention in which the modulation isprovided by an array of micromirrors.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Writer Head.

Super-resolution systems are not in and of themselves new.Sub-wavelength apertures have been designed for several applications,notably near field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) and opticalrecording. However, a particular sub-resolution aperture, often called aC-aperture, has been demonstrated to have extraordinary super-resolutionproperties, and has particular properties that can be useful forlithography.

FIG. 4 shows a C-aperture 400. These have been described previously inpublications from the Hesselink group at Stanford University, and U.S.patent application Ser. Nos. 10/877,220 and 10/845,781. A “typical”C-aperture has two arms 410 and a connecting back 420. The dimensionsfor arm length A, back height B, arm width W and back width C for theC-aperture plotted in FIG. 4 for use at λ=1000 nm are: A=220 nm, B=300nm, W=100 nm and C=100 nm. Dimensions can be proportionately scaled foruse with other wavelengths, i.e. for λ=193 nm, A=42.5 nm, B=57.9 nm, andW=C=19.3 nm.

The super-resolution spots from a C-aperture can be as small as λ/10.But, when compared to a square aperture of similar open area, theC-aperture has been demonstrated to have a transmission that is ordersof magnitude greater. This is generally believed to be related to theelectrical excitation of currents in the material around the arms of theaperture. The electrical conductivity of the material around theaperture is therefore a factor in the performance. For some materialsand apertures, a resonance formed by surface plasmons can occur,enhancing the properties of the aperture. For other configurations,non-plasmonic resonances have been observed. The spots formed aretherefore not only super-resolution, i.e. small, but alsoextraordinarily bright. Brightness improvements of 10³ to 10⁶ have beenobserved for C-apertures under certain circumstances. Although severaldefinitions of a super-resolution aperture with extraordinarytransmission can be used, we will consider a super-resolution aperturewith extraordinary transmission to be one in which the transmission isat least a factor of 2 larger when compared with either a squareaperture of the same area, or a circular aperture of the same area.

The geometry and proportions of the aperture are also a factor, but sometolerance is allowed. The C-apertures need not maintain these exactdimensions or proportions. The widths of the arms need not be equal, andthey need not equal the width of the back. The arms can be longer orshorter than the back, as shown in FIG. 5. For some cases, a bowtieaperture, also shown in FIG. 5, has been shown to have similarsuper-resolution capabilities. Again, the two sides of the bow-tie maytouch, or may be separated by a small amount of opaque material, andneed not be symmetric or perfectly aligned to still function as asuper-resolution aperture. Apertures with other structures may also bediscovered that have extraordinarily high transmissivity. In general,although the previously described C-apertures may have certainbeneficial super-resolution properties, the invention can be practicedwith a number of super-resolution aperture designs that may becomeapparent to those skilled in the art, as long as the transmissionthrough the aperture is a factor of 2 or larger than either a comparablesquare or circular aperture having the same opening area.

A nanowriter with a writing architecture using a single C-aperture canbe formed using a configuration similar to a near-field scanning opticalmicroscope (NSOM). Demonstrations of nanowriters using NSOM systems havebeen made, although none are known to have used a C-aperture. Such asystem could be created by taking a fiber optic element and coating theend with a suitable conducting material, such as aluminum, silver, orgold, using a sputtering system or other deposition method, and thenusing a tool such as a programmable focused ion beam (FIB) system toselectively mill away material near the transmitting core of the fiber,leaving a C-aperture shaped opening. Another method of creating aC-aperture on the fiber tip is to further coat the end with aphotoresist or an electron beam (E-beam) resist, and then expose theresist to a suitable dose of photons or E-beams in the shape of aC-aperture, followed by processing the resist to clear resist in theshape of the aperture and then etching the underlying conductingmaterial so revealed.

The final step is the removal of the remaining resist once the etchinghas occurred. Other means to pattern the coated tip of the fiber will beknown to those skilled in the art.

This can produce a fiber that has both a super-resolution spot and highrelative transmission. However, writing the volume of data required foran IC with a single writing head would be extremely time consuming.

As an example, assume there are 6 contact holes for a single transistorin a layout. For a contemporary design with 100 million transistors, thenumber of contact holes would be 600 million. If exposure of a spot inphotoresist requires a typical exposure dose-to-clear of 50 mJ/cm²(typical for Novalak resists used with λ=365 nm), a single 32 nmdiameter contact can be written using 1 μW of transmitted power in 0.4μsec. Addressing all contacts serially will therefore consume 240 sec inexposure time alone. Beyond this, additional time is required for stagemotion between contact exposures. Assuming at least 250 IC fields perwafer, this gives a wafer-processing rate less than 0.059 wafers/hr.This is clearly impractical, when competing technologies currentlyprocess wafers for 65 nm and 45 nm generation ICs at rates near 100wafers/hr—over 1,500× faster.

Increasing the power from 1 μW to 1 mW could potentially reduce thewriting time, but will still not achieve the goal. Furthermore, thisdoes not consider the additional time required to move and thenaccurately position the writing element for exposing each spot. LargerIC designs requiring more contact holes would take proportionately moretime.

Parallel writing approaches are therefore the only way wafers can bepractically exposed. One architecture for parallel writing involveswriting several wafers simultaneously using a single data stream, eachwith a single write head. However, mechanical management of the siliconwafers (currently 300 mm in diameter) and the requirement that manywafers be written identically limits the flexibility of such anapproach. Also, the number of wafers processed per hour only increasesby the number of wafers processed in parallel. More than 17 wafers wouldneed to be simultaneously mounted in the above example to achieve anaverage rate of 1 wafer/hr, and any given wafer would still require aninordinately long write time.

Another approach to parallel writing involves configuring severalwriting apertures in an array on an integrated print head, to writeseveral spots simultaneously. The layout data can be prepared to provideseveral data streams, one for each aperture. One possible architecturefor a super-resolution aperture print head for use in high throughputnanolithography is shown in FIG. 6. Here, a linear or 1-D array ofsuper-resolution apertures is formed in a suitable material, coated on asupport structure. Spacing S in one direction is set so that neighboringapertures have a significant degree of overlap as the head is movedorthogonal to that direction (indicated by an arrow in FIG. 6) whilethey are spaced much farther apart in the other direction (by adimension P in FIG. 6) These apertures can be formed by the sametechniques outlined above for the single fiber case, e.g. FIB or E-beamexposure among others. In this illustration, although the motion of theaperture would be parallel to the line of the array, each aperture isslightly offset in position from the next, such that, as the wafer ismoved beneath the array, individual spots at slightly differentlocations can be written by selectively turning on and off theappropriate aperture. Fine motion of the wafer is therefore notnecessary, and the wafer can be moved using a uniform motion. For bestresults, the exposure characteristics must be carefully synchronizedwith the stage motion to insure accurate spot placement.

The support structure can be any mechanically strong material capable ofsupporting a film that is also transparent to the wavelength to be used.Quartz and sapphire are possible candidates, but other materials knownto be transparent to UV and VUV can be used as well.

An optical source at the exposing wavelength is divided into a parallelnumber of channels, each corresponding to one aperture. Althoughindividual sources can be used, such as an array of Vertical CavitySurface Emitting Lasers (VCSELs) for each channel, dividing a singlesource allows power fluctuations to be normalized for all apertures,decreasing susceptibility to random dose variations.

To write individual pixels, each channel is individually modulated toexpose the wafer in accordance with the pattern data provided in themicrodevice layout. There are also one or more location sensors, toalign and orient the printing head with reference to locations on thewafer. There are also one or more stabilization sensors combined with acontrol system to maintain the array a particular distance from thesurface being exposed.

The extraordinary transmission of super-resolution apertures such as theC-aperture is related to the electrical conductance and opticalproperties of the material used to form the aperture. Traditionally,materials such as silver or gold have been used to demonstrate thesephenomena using wavelengths such as λ=1 μm, for which both these metalsare clearly conductors (optical properties n=0.272, k=7.07 for Au, wheren and k are the real and imaginary components of the optical index ofrefraction). To achieve similar effects with λ=365 nm, λ=248 nm, orλ=193 nm (lithography wavelengths for which conventional materials andprocesses exist), the material coating in which the aperture exists mustalso be suitably conducting, i.e. have a large k value and small nvalues. Some possible candidate materials are shown below in Table I. Itshould be noted that, for λ=193 nm, silicon may be particularlyattractive, partly because of its conducting properties, but also forthe well developed ability to machine and process the material.

TABLE I Optical properties for some metals. 1000 nm 365 nm 248 nm 193 nmAluminum (Al) n 1.35 0.407 0.190 0.115 k 9.58 4.43 2.94 2.24 Silver (Ag)n 0.226 0.186 1.298 1.02 k 6.99 1.61 1.35 1.17 Gold (Au) n 1.35 0.4070.190 0.115 k 9.58 4.43 2.94 2.24 Platinum (Pt) n 3.33 1.62 1.36 1.32 k5.7 2.62 1.76 1.28 Chromium (Cr) n 1.39 0.85 0.842 k 3.24 2.01 1.647Silicon (Si) n 4.0 6.522 1.57 0.89 k 0 2.70 3.565 2.80

Materials such as aluminum, silver and chromium, when exposed to air,tarnish by forming oxides or other compounds that may affect theirconductivity. Optical properties for some oxides are shown in Table II.For this reason, any use of a reactive material to provide thesuper-resolution apertures should be encapsulated in a protectivecoating that prevents or retards these decay processes. Controlling theenvironment of the lithography system to eliminate oxygen or otherreactive compounds from the air surrounding the printing head may alsobe used.

TABLE II Optical properties for metal oxides. 1000 nm 365 nm 248 nm 193nm Silicon Dioxide (SiO₂) n 1.45 1.475 1.508 1.56 k 0 0 0 0 Cr O₃ n1.636 k 0 0.65 Cr₂ O₃ n 1.76 k 0 0.311

A super-resolution aperture head according to the invention is shown inFIG. 7. FIG. 7A shows a 3-D view of the writing head, while FIG. 7Bshows a cross section view. Here, light beams 702 each illuminate astructure plate 700, comprising a support material 710 coated below witha light blocking material 720. The light beams may be relayed from amicromirror configuration such as that illustrated in FIG. 18, or may beindividually modulated by other means. In the coating of light blockingmaterial, the super-resolution apertures 750 are formed. The interfacebetween the air and the light blocking material may be coated in turnwith a protective coating 730, to reduce the effects of tarnish,oxidation or other degradation possibilities.

To write many spots simultaneously, an array of apertures in theconducting film is needed. FIG. 6 shows a possible linear,one-dimensional array. Two-dimensional arrays of super-resolutionapertures can also be used, illustrated in FIG. 8. However, arrays ofsuper-resolution apertures in conducting materials have been known toproduce extraordinary transmission arising from surface plasmons, andcreate bright regions with photons where none are desired. To mitigatethis effect, as illustrated in FIG. 9, an arrayed head of C-aperturesmay have a non-conducting channel or channels 990 formed betweenapertures. Other techniques can also be applied to insulate them fromeach other and ensure a lack of crosstalk.

Referring again to FIG. 8, if the desired distance between exposurespots is distance S, and the spacing allowed between apertures is P,then the number of apertures N required for only a 1-D portion of thearray to write an arbitrary spot on a 10 nm design grid is N=P/S. Forexample, if P=2 μm, and spots must be written with a center locationspecified to within 10 nm, S=10 nm and N=2000/10=200 apertures for a 1-Darray. This is illustrated in FIG. 8. For 5 nm spot placement, anaperture array with N=400 would be required.

Coverage of larger areas can be achieved either by scanning a singlehead with, for example, 1×200 apertures over multiple stripe locationson the wafer, as shown in FIG. 10, or by adding additional apertures toform a two-dimensional array and scanning the two-dimensional array. Itis expected that data conversion algorithms will be simplest for asquare array, for example with 400×400=160,000 channels. With 160,000channels, each causing wafer exposure using 1 μW, exposure of an entirewafer would now require only 0.375 sec, or a rate of 9,600 wafers/hr. Inpractice, this means that the wafer throughput is now limited by theability to drive the head to the required locations, not the serial datalimitations of the write head. However, since this corresponds to anillumination intensity of 1 μW/(10⁻⁶×10⁻⁶ cm²)=1 MW/cm², power densitywould be an issue to also be considered for optical damage from theillumination of the write head. 1 MW/cm² even for a short time willdamage many materials, particularly absorbing materials.

We have assumed a square print head configuration for this example, butother rectangular designs or other head configurations may be found tohave practical mechanical properties when used for a head moving at highspeeds in close proximity to a wafer.

The above example assumed 2 μm spacing between exposure elements. Usinga smaller center-to-center spacing would reduce the number of requiredchannels, but require more passes of the head over the wafer to providecoverage of the same area. Similarly, a design grid requiring spotplacement at arbitrary location on a grid smaller than 10 nm wouldindicate that more channels are required. This is assuming that the headis scanned over the wafer in a uniform manner, such as a raster scan.This is usually desired, since the mechanical motions of the scan andtheir associated accelerations and stresses can be quite regular andpredictable, and therefore the mechanical design becomes easier. It isconceivable that head designs that can tolerate the rapid accelerationsof arbitrary spot addressing can also be created, making a morearbitrary pattern of motion possible for exposure.

Illumination Methods.

Illumination of the aperture must be provided. The light for eachchannel can be provided in a number of ways. One possible mechanism isto use an individual waveguide 1162 for each channel, such as a fiberoptic waveguide. An array of several waveguides is illustrated in FIG.11. For this embodiment, it is likely that points where light enters thewaveguides would be separate and distinct, so that the light enteringeach waveguide could be easily modulated.

Another configuration, which might prove advantageous for mechanicaldesign of the head, conveys light from modulators to the apertures usingfree space propagation. This is shown in FIG. 12. In this example, alens system 1240 would collect the light from each modulator 1232 andimage it on the region of the aperture. Although this imaging systemwould be limited by diffraction, the spots themselves would be definedby the apertures, not the imaged spot size.

The modulator 1232 in this case can be a modulator in transmission, suchas one made of thin film transistors or liquid crystal light values, orone designed to be used in reflection, such as the micromirror arraydeveloped for the maskless approach described previously and illustratedin FIG. 3. The only requirement is that the modulator be able tomodulate at speeds appropriate for the exposure required to besynchronized with the motion of the wafer stage.

The light source itself can be any coherent or partially coherent sourceof photons, as long as the total fluence of the source is enough thateach individual channel has enough to expose a spot in the time allowed.For a system of 160,000 channels of 50 nW incident on each aperture, andwhere each aperture passes 5% of the total incident light, the averagetotal source power would need to be at least 160 mW—a power levelavailable using commercial CW argon ion lasers at 365 nm. Similarsources for 248 nm or 193 nm exposures may require additionalinvestigation.

Thermal Effects.

No matter the final configuration, light that does not pass through theapertures must be accommodated. This may be either reflected back intothe optical system, or partially absorbed by the material forming theC-aperture. In either case, it is possible that the light not used forexposure ends up providing local (and uneven) heating to some part ofthe head, affecting the mechanical properties and possibly the physicaldimensions of the aperture through thermal expansion. Some method ofheat mitigation may therefore be required in the design of the system toanticipate and compensate for these possible thermal effects. This maybe the provision that an active cooling system, such as a thermoelectriccooler, be provided in contact with the writing head, that microchannelsfor cooling fluid be created in the head as it is fabricated, and/orcooling fluids, such as helium or another gas, or water or anotherfluid, be flowed over the head.

Data Channel.

IC layout data is normally in a hierarchical format such as GDS-II orOASIS, and to write a mask or wafer, it must be converted into a patternof on/off signals to drive the modulator. This data conversion processis typically called fracturing. There are several data fracturingapproaches that are currently available already. Furthermore, specialdata compression algorithms to provide data to 1000×1000 pixel spatiallight modulators used in optical maskless systems using micromirrorshave been developed by Zakhor et al. These approaches can be adapted tothe system disclosed here, with the only requirement that the data besynchronized with the position sensors to ensure that the photonmodulation appears on the wafer at the exact time the aperture is overthe spot to be exposed. Consideration of the speed of light through awaveguide delivery system, for example, may be required for preciseexposure of 32 nm spots.

Height Control.

The distance from the aperture to surface must be controlled to provideconsistent, predictable spot sizes. Contemporary systems can control thedistance between mechanical objects to a few tens of nanometers, withtolerances of 1 nm or even less. Well-designed scanning probemicroscopes can control these distances on an atomic scale. Eachaperture configuration must be carefully designed and the distancecontrolled such that the shape of the exposed region having an iso-dosecontour from the C-aperture spot matches the shape of the exposure, suchas a contact hole, to be created. If a head with an array of spots isused that extends over a significant area, the wafer must be locallyplanar to the same degree over this area. Although this is commonlyachieved using chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP), local topographicvariations from different materials with different polishingcharacteristics, and also due to long range wafer bowing may occur asthe head travels long distances over the wafer. The head therefore mayrequire active flexing to allow the surface of the head to conform tothe local plane of the wafer.

Sensors can therefore be provided to measure the distance to the wafer,and provide a control signal to an active servo loop that adjusts theposition of the head. There are a number of conventional sensors thatcan be applied to this situation. In one possible configuration, anumber of atomic force microscope (AFM) tips 1370 are provided atcertain locations around the head, as shown in FIG. 13. In oneembodiment of the invention, each AFM tip is controlled individually,each with its own feedback system for height control. The head would becontrolled such that the AFM distances are held constant as the headmoves over the wafer.

In another embodiment of the system, as illustrated in FIG. 14, thesensors are interferometers 1470, and infer the distance to the waferusing an interferometric fringe. This has an advantage in that the riskof crashing into the wafer is smaller than with an AFM tip, since theAFM tip is extremely close to the wafer. It can also have certain speedadvantages. However, isolation between the optical path for exposure andfor position sensing must be provided, which may make the opticalfabrication of the head intricate and expensive. Furthermore, theoptical reflection from the wafer may be complicated by multiplereflections from the multiple layers that have already been fabricatedunder the layer being exposed. Care must be taken in the interferometricdesign to ensure an accurate control signal in the presence of thesepossible additional reflections.

The head itself may also be designed to function without active control,but instead be aerodynamically designed to “fly” over the wafer surfaceat a constant height, with that height governed by the airflow over thehead. Commonly used for magnetic recording in which the head flieswithin a few nm of the recording surface, a similar configuration to flya head with at least one super-resolution aperture is incorporated inone embodiment of the invention.

A configuration involving 160,000 spots would, however, require aspecial design not found in conventional magnetic recording heads. Inmagnetic discs, the head velocity is maintained by spinning therecording surface below the head. For an optical recording system and arotating wafer, the on/off control for the modulator must be preciselytimed with the rotation to allow a spot of specific dimensions to bewritten. Synchronization of the modulation with signals from detectorsthat sense relative head position and relative velocity can allowplacement and dimensional control. This is provided by having a sensorsystem that detects wafer position, a data processing system thatprocesses the IC layout data, and a synchronization system thatdetermines the correct exposure timing signals needed to modulate theexposure system to deliver the correct dose to the correct location.With multiple spots in an array, the precise position and speed for eachspot must be determined, to provide the correct on/off behavior to writethe features as desired. Since spots at different distances from thecenter of rotation will move at different linear speeds, a preferredembodiment will have a configuration such as that shown in FIG. 15, inwhich each spot is maintained at a precise distance from the center ofrotation.

Data fracturing for a circular writing plan must also be considered.Normal fracturing algorithms for maskless systems pixelate the layoutand provide it to an array of micromirrors. Data are provided as tiles,at a rate synchronized with the laser pulses. Synchronization ofmodulation for individual features with variable wafer speed is notnecessary. However, with the wafer now moving at various linear speeds,depending on the distance from the center of rotation, the individualhead modulations depend on the local wafer speed. A data fracturingsystem that decomposes the layout modulation signals into tracks, to bewritten in synchronization with the position and velocity feedbacksignals from the wafer, as illustrated in FIG. 16 can improve thewriting performance considerably.

Such a fracturing system, as with conventional fracturing systems, willtypically be implemented using a computer system, comprising dataprocessing circuitry, data storage devices such as disk drives, randomaccess memory circuitry, input and output devices, and a communicationsnetwork or data bus system to facilitate data transfer between thesecomponents.

Light Source.

The light source for exposure would ideally be a single mode, continuouswave (CW) laser that would be split or focused into multiple beams, onefor each modulator channel. The power in each channel would nominally beidentical, although individual control and calibration may be requiredfor the channels as fabricated. The power from the source can bemonitored and coordinated with the wafer position information and themodulator control to ensure that the exposure for each desired spot iscorrect, even if the laser power itself fluctuates. Alternatively, thepower can be controlled to a fixed, constant value very accurately witha conventional “noise eater” that delivers uniform power to themodulators, eliminating the need for complicated controls on eachchannel, but losing some power at the noise eater to ensure stability.

Modulations as described in the examples here would be at speeds on theorder of 10 MHz. This is easily achievable using many modulationschemes. Alternatively, the laser itself can be operated in a pulsedmode, either using a pulsed source or in a mode-locked configuration. Inthis case, the intensity switches on and off in intense, highlyrepetitive short pulses with a small duty factor (e.g. 10 ns pulses at 2kHz). Such a system would allow the system modulators to act as blankingsystems, opening in synchrony with the pulses and allowing a certainnumber of pulses through to provide the correct dose. This may presentadvantages in modulator design, allowing some jitter in the modulatorchannel itself, since on/off behavior is actually dictated by the laserpulses, which can be quite uniform.

Additionally, another embodiment of the invention, illustrated in FIG.17, comprises an additional light source 1700, which can have awavelength different than the wavelength being used for exposure (e.g. ared diode laser light source at λ=680 nm compared to an exposurewavelength of λ=365 nm.) In a configuration where the red light andexposure light are combined with a beamsplitter 1712, both will passthrough the optical system and fall on the sub-resolution aperture. Somelight of each wavelength will pass through the aperture.

Since most lithography materials are insensitive to light withwavelengths longer than 400 nm, exposure with red light will not causeadditional lithographic reactions. Instead, some light will be reflectedoff the surface of the material being exposed, and will be reflectedback through the aperture. A beamsplitter that separates the twodifferent wavelengths directs the shorter wavelength light to a detectoror sensor. Signal processing circuitry can be used to infer from theshorter wavelength signal the distance between the aperture and thewafer, as in the previous interferometer configuration of FIG. 14. Itcan also be used to infer the amount of exposure received, by, forexample, detecting the change in the wavefront as the refractive indexof the exposed material changes with exposure.

While specific materials, designs, aperture configurations andfabrication steps have been set forth to describe this invention and itspreferred embodiments, such descriptions are not intended to belimiting. Modifications and changes may be apparent to those skilled inthe art, and it is intended that this invention be limited only by thescope of the appended Claims.

We claim:
 1. A method for patterning a data recording medium,comprising: determining a portion on a recording medium to be writtenwith a pattern representing data; bringing at least one plasmonicstructure within a few tens of nanometers of said portion of the datarecording medium; moving the data recording medium relative to theplasmonic structure; illuminating said portion of the data recordingmedium using modulated photons, such that the photon illuminationintensity is affected by both the plasmonic structure and the modulationof the photons, said modulation of the photons being synchronized withthe motion of the data recording medium and the pattern representingdata; and verifying the illumination of the data recording medium hasoccurred.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of moving the datarecording medium comprises rotating the data recording medium.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein a plurality of plasmonic structures are usedto expose a corresponding plurality of distinct portions of one or moredata recording media.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the illuminationintensity is modulated to expose distinct positions of the datarecording medium in accordance with predetermined pattern data; whereinthe predetermined pattern data is prepared using a data fracturingsystem that decomposes the data into tracks, said tracks to be writtenin synchronization with position and velocity feedback signals from thedata recording medium.
 5. The method of claim 2, wherein the step ofrotating the data recording medium comprises spinning the data recordingmedium uniformly below the plasmonic structure.
 6. The method of claim1, wherein the plasmonic structure comprises at least onesuper-resolution aperture; and wherein the step of illuminating aportion of the data recording medium using photons comprisestransmission of the illuminating photons through the super-resolutionaperture.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the at least onesuper-resolution aperture is selected from the group consisting of abow-tie shaped aperture and a C-aperture.
 8. The method of claim 6,wherein the photons illuminating a portion of the data recording mediumhave a spot size with a diameter less than or equal to 32 nanometers. 9.The method of claim 1, wherein the data recording medium is a magneticdata recording medium.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the step ofverifying the illumination of the data recording medium comprises usinga detector to detect changes in the recording medium after theillumination using photons.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein thedetector comprises a sensor for photons of a different wavelength thansaid illuminating photons.
 12. A system for patterning a data recordingmedium, comprising: at least one plasmonic structure; means to bring theat least one plasmonic structure within a few tens of nanometers of adata recording medium; means for moving the data recording mediumrelative to the at least one plasmonic structure, wherein said movingcomprises rotating the data recording medium; and means for illuminatinga portion of the data recording medium using photons, such that thephoton illumination intensity is affected by the plasmonic structure;and means for modulating the intensity of the photons in synchronizationwith the motion of the data recording medium and the patternrepresenting data; and means for verifying the illumination of the datarecording medium.
 13. The system of claim 12, comprising a plurality ofplasmonic structures positioned to expose a corresponding plurality ofdistinct portions of one or more data recording media.
 14. The system ofclaim 12, wherein the plasmonic structure comprises at least onesuper-resolution aperture; and in which the means for illuminating aportion of the data recording medium using photons comprisestransmission of the illuminating photons through the super-resolutionaperture.
 15. The system of claim 12, wherein the at least onesuper-resolution aperture is selected from the group consisting of abow-tie shaped aperture and a C-aperture.
 16. The system of claim 12,wherein the photons illuminating a portion of the data recording mediumhave a spot size with a diameter less than or equal to 32 nanometers.17. The system of claim 12, wherein the data recording medium is amagnetic data recording medium.
 18. The system of claim 12, wherein themeans for modulating comprises a modulator to change the intensity ofthe illumination on the data recording medium to allow exposure distinctpositions of the data recording medium in accordance with predeterminedpattern data; and additionally comprising one or more position sensorsto provide position and velocity feedback signals from the datarecording medium; and a data fracturing system to synchronize the photonmodulation with the predetermined pattern data; wherein the datafracturing system prepares the predetermined pattern data by decomposingthe data into tracks, said tracks to be written in synchronization withposition and velocity feedback signals from the data recording medium.19. The system of claim 12, wherein the means for verifying theillumination of the data recording medium comprises a detector to detectchanges in the recording medium after the illumination using photons.20. The method of claim 19, wherein the detector comprises a sensor forsecond photons of a different wavelength than said illuminating photons.